I was inspired by a post by Paige Maguire to create a playlist for a movie character: “stuff we imagine they’d listen to in their car, things that seem to belong to them even though we could never be sure.” Thanks for the inspiration, Ms. Maguire. Please visit her site here if you haven’t already. Great things. I chose Holly Golightly from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” as she is one of my favorite characters- both in literature and in film. Though, upon building this playlist I realized that the Holly Golightly of cinema and the Holly Golightly of Truman Capote’s story are two very different creatures indeed. Last Friday night I re-read the story then immediately watched the film, and while I am still enamored of both versions, I must say that the Ms. Golightly of the book speaks to me more as a character. So, this mix is based more on the Holly Golightly of the page than of the screen. One thing about the book, though, is that what we know of Holly is only what we are told by the narrator (who in the film became Paul ‘Fred’ Varjack). Therefore, we can only know the Holly he observed and interpreted and recorded in his memory. In trying to capture her character in music, these songs only slightly hint at the time period of the story (WWII, unlike the 60s of the film) with a hint of Cole Porter (“Miss Otis Regrets”) and a dash of Kurt Weill (“Alabama Song”), both of whom are referenced in the story as composers whose music Ms. Golightly would strum on her guitar out on the fire escape with the cat. The rest simply speak to her essence as I read it, with the themes of her brother Fred, her life as Lulamae Barnes in Tulip, Texas, her need for a home and for belonging. She was- at least in Capote’s mind, it seems- the ultimate femme fatale. I think my favorite line from the book is this: “I tamed her a crow and taught it to say her name.” That’s lovely. Don’t wanna sleep, Don’t wanna die, Just wanna go a-travelin’ through the pastures of the sky Holly Golightly Mix 1) Achin’ to Be: The Replacements 2) You Got the Silver: The Rolling Stones 3) She Passed By My Window: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 4) Never Met a Girl Like You Before: The Kinks 5) Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again): Richard Buckner 6) Man With Money: Jorma Whittaker 7) Sell Your Love: Iggy Pop and James Williamson 8) Night and Day: Esquivel 9) The Perfect Girl: The Cure 10) Weather Report: The American Analog Set 11) A Place Called Home: PJ Harvey 12) Sad Cinderella: Townes Van Zandt 13) For the Love of a Soldier: Susan Christie 14) Crow River Waltz: Leo Kottke 15) Mistress (Piano Version): Red House Painters 16) Another World: Antony & the Johnsons 17) Le Soleil Est Près de Moi: Air 18) Femme Fatale: The Velvet Underground 19) Don’t Sing No More Sad Songs: Kevin Ayers 20) Alabama Song: The Doors 21) Be My Husband: Nina Simone 22) Miss Otis Regrets: Ella Fitzgerald 23) Face in a Crowd: Dean Martin 24) Don’t Forget Me: Harry Nilsson *The host has deleted the file. Please message me if you would like a copy of this mix.* I don’t think I have mastered the art of keeping the tracks in order yet, so they might not arrive to you in the above order, but please arrange and play them that way. If you drag the files into a playlist I think that works. Anyway, the order matters. Bear with me. I’m learning. Big thanks to Mark over at yvynyl for helping to bring me up-to-date on the modern marvels of file sharing! Show him some Tumblr love. He has a great site and he’s a nice guy to boot. Photo is a screen shot from the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”

I was inspired by a post by Paige Maguire to create a playlist for a movie character: “stuff we imagine they’d listen to in their car, things that seem to belong to them even though we could never be sure.” Thanks for the inspiration, Ms. Maguire. Please visit her site here if you haven’t already. Great things.

I chose Holly Golightly from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” as she is one of my favorite characters- both in literature and in film. Though, upon building this playlist I realized that the Holly Golightly of cinema and the Holly Golightly of Truman Capote’s story are two very different creatures indeed. Last Friday night I re-read the story then immediately watched the film, and while I am still enamored of both versions, I must say that the Ms. Golightly of the book speaks to me more as a character. So, this mix is based more on the Holly Golightly of the page than of the screen.

One thing about the book, though, is that what we know of Holly is only what we are told by the narrator (who in the film became Paul ‘Fred’ Varjack). Therefore, we can only know the Holly he observed and interpreted and recorded in his memory.

In trying to capture her character in music, these songs only slightly hint at the time period of the story (WWII, unlike the 60s of the film) with a hint of Cole Porter (“Miss Otis Regrets”) and a dash of Kurt Weill (“Alabama Song”), both of whom are referenced in the story as composers whose music Ms. Golightly would strum on her guitar out on the fire escape with the cat. The rest simply speak to her essence as I read it, with the themes of her brother Fred, her life as Lulamae Barnes in Tulip, Texas, her need for a home and for belonging. She was- at least in Capote’s mind, it seems- the ultimate femme fatale.

I think my favorite line from the book is this:

“I tamed her a crow and taught it to say her name.”

That’s lovely.

Don’t wanna sleep, Don’t wanna die, Just wanna go a-travelin’ through the pastures of the sky
Holly Golightly Mix

1) Achin’ to Be: The Replacements
2) You Got the Silver: The Rolling Stones
3) She Passed By My Window: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
4) Never Met a Girl Like You Before: The Kinks
5) Lovin’ Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again): Richard Buckner
6) Man With Money: Jorma Whittaker
7) Sell Your Love: Iggy Pop and James Williamson
8) Night and Day: Esquivel
9) The Perfect Girl: The Cure
10) Weather Report: The American Analog Set
11) A Place Called Home: PJ Harvey
12) Sad Cinderella: Townes Van Zandt
13) For the Love of a Soldier: Susan Christie
14) Crow River Waltz: Leo Kottke
15) Mistress (Piano Version): Red House Painters
16) Another World: Antony & the Johnsons
17) Le Soleil Est Près de Moi: Air
18) Femme Fatale: The Velvet Underground
19) Don’t Sing No More Sad Songs: Kevin Ayers
20) Alabama Song: The Doors
21) Be My Husband: Nina Simone
22) Miss Otis Regrets: Ella Fitzgerald
23) Face in a Crowd: Dean Martin
24) Don’t Forget Me: Harry Nilsson

*The host has deleted the file. Please message me if you would like a copy of this mix.*

I don’t think I have mastered the art of keeping the tracks in order yet, so they might not arrive to you in the above order, but please arrange and play them that way. If you drag the files into a playlist I think that works. Anyway, the order matters. Bear with me. I’m learning.

Big thanks to Mark over at yvynyl for helping to bring me up-to-date on the modern marvels of file sharing! Show him some Tumblr love. He has a great site and he’s a nice guy to boot.

Photo is a screen shot from the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”